Tumblr is one of the world’s fastest-growing social media platforms. It is the host for over 216.9 million blogs belonging to individuals, groups, companies and fan bases. It has become incredibly popular since its launch in 2007. However, not everyone likes this social media platform. Two members of the Lancer Media staff take up the debate.

Julia Peigh: One of the best things about Tumblr is the freedom that joining the social network gives. Tumblr is a social network for originality, from creative opinions to hand-drawn art. You can follow blogs about anything. Doctor Who-, science-, celebrities-, even corn-themed blogs spring up with every new member who joins the website.

Magena Straight: Yeah, that’s all fun but is it too much freedom? I have a hard time believing “cornography” is meaningful. Lawn dinosaurs? Seriously, get a life! Sooner or later someone is going to start a profile on something that is a touchy subject, and it’s going to start a whole controversy.

JP: Those sort of profiles already exist. But people search and follow blogs that they are interested in. That’s the point of the freedom. People aren’t being forced to see anything that they don’t want to. There are ways to block what you don’t want to see. Pornography is blocked on the website unless the person looking for it unlocks it in his or her settings. Even if you do that, pornography still won’t show up in suggested searches. Users can block anything, from television show spoilers, to the Holocaust, to specific people.

MS: Yes, I understand all that. Blocking people and profiles may keep you from seeing what you don’t want to see, but what it doesn’t prevent is cyber bullying. I’m not saying the Tumblr is the only social media site that has a problem, but Tumblr abuses and adds to the problem. For example, a user decided to dedicate her name to the popular Sam Winchester played by Jared Padalecki from the hit CW television series Supernatural. The problem was, she never posted anything involving Sam or the show. Of course, that infuriated Supernatural fans. Soon after, angry fans started sending the user anonymous comments, yelling at her, telling her to change her username. It was a mess.

JP: Cyber-bullying is not a problem that is going to stop. There is a lot of it going on, on any social media platform. However, that’s not all there is. Support comes from all around on Tumblr. In December, there was an outbreak of cyber-bullying that targeted Supernatural fans. Many blogs immediately declared themselves “safe houses” where bloggers who had been attacked by the anonymous comments, or “hate,” could come and talk about what was going on and receive encouragement and support. The tag #affectedbyhate went wild, and thousands of blogs came forward to offer their assistance. The point is that bloggers love to post their own art and stories. Local artists get so much cheering on from followers because so many people appreciate the hard work and effort that these people put in to showcase their talents.

MS: That goes with my next point. Tumblr has no limits. That is what makes it attractive. For example, a 14-year-old girl started a self-harm profile and Tumblr has done nothing about it. This profile is used to post pictures of self harm and eating disorders. Also, the girl uses the profile to help suicidal people and people that do self-harm. But while she is helping, she is also sharing her stories of how she cuts and where. She is explaining her method of self harm, which is evolving. That’s not OK. She posted that Tumblr has yet to contact her and tell her to take down her blog. I understand that she is helping but she is also doing harm.

JP: If Tumblr contacted this girl and asked her to take down her blog, that would be taking away her First Amendment rights. She has the freedom to post what she wants. Sure, it may not be the best morally. People may not approve of her posts. I certainly don’t! However, she has the legal right to post what she wants without being censored. If blogs got censored for controversial content, there wouldn’t be any posts on Tumblr or any other website because there would always be one person who would try to find something wrong with what is being said. Freedom of speech would be out the window.

MS: I understand that this is freedom of speech, but should teenagers have this much freedom?

JP: Anywhere on the internet, you’ll find people with “inappropriate” posts. Haven’t you ever seen a fight break out on Twitter? Especially celebrity fights. These aren’t teenagers, but they are the people that teenagers look up to and follow. As public as everything is these days, you’re unlikely to find a website that doesn’t have a single ounce of controversial content.

MS: There are other sites that teenagers can use to express themselves. For example, Instagram and Twitter. On all of these social media sites, users post pictures, add comments, have a username, profile picture, followers, and follow other people. They can type something and post it. Then other people can can comment on it, like picture posts.

JP: No, maybe there aren’t many social differences, but Tumblr tends to attract a different sort of person than those who constantly use Twitter and Instagram. Maybe that’s the attraction. It isn’t necessarily the aesthetics of the blue blogging motif that brings traffic to Tumblr. It’s the type of people on there. Tumblr is full of people who love to obsess over things, from the winter season to British sci-fi. However, Tumblr is customizable. Your blog is all you, from pictures to theme. On Twitter and Instagram, your page looks like everyone else’s. Any page could become a cookie-cutter template for someone else’s. Not much happens in 140 characters.

MS: From a parent perspective, I don’t think many teens are prepared for the maturity needed to navigate Tumblr. I’m still not persuaded.

JP: Permission for teens starts and stops with parents.  I’m not going to argue with that.